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This is not a blog which opines on current events. It rather uses incidents, books (old and new), links and papers to muse about our social endeavours.
So old posts are as good as new! And lots of useful links!

The Bucegi mountains - the range I see from the front balcony of my mountain house - are almost 120 kms from Bucharest and cannot normally be seen from the capital but some extraordinary weather conditions allowed this pic to be taken from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel in late Feb 2020

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Human Nature

Human nature is something we talk about as if affected only other people – but not us!
Robert Greene is one of these authors – like Alain de Botton – many people are reluctant to admit to reading. They write well and often thoughtfully – but they’re popular damn it!
You can read Greene for yourself via this post from a couple of years ago about his book on the “48 Laws of Power”.
He does, admittedly, use a basic formulae for all his books – find some historical characters to illustrate your theme; select one incident and/or characteristic; generalize; and draw out some lessons for the reader’s own behavior. In that sense his books can be placed in the “Self-help” category – never a serious one! But they come beautifully designed with red text in the margin summarizing the basic incidents and lessons.

His latest book, The Laws of Human Nature, (he offers 18) notes how often we are disappointed and undermined by the behaviour of colleagues and bosses; offers us early warning signs to identify – as well as tactics for dealing with perverse behavior. It starts with a typical story about Pericles to illustrate a point about irrationality and ends with a couple of important explorations of generational differences and the fear of death which I’ve excluded from this table. And I've now discovered the full book here 

The Behaviour

Historical example
Lesson
Narcissim
Many people tend to focus on and admire themselves more than others. This hinders their success when interacting with others
Stalin
You need to transform self-love into empathy. This will make you more successful in your group
Role playing
People tend to wear the mask that shows them in the best possible light. They hide their true personality.

Milton Ericksonan American psychiatrist and psychologist of 20th centurywas paralysed when he was young and became a master reader of people;s body language.
Master the body language by transforming yourself into a superior reader of men and women. At the same time you must learn how to present the best front
Compulsive behavior
People never do something just once. They will inevitably repeat their bad behavior
Train yourself to look deep within people and see their character. Always gravitate toward those who display signs of strength, and avoid the many toxic types out there.
Covetousness
Coco Chanela French fashion designer and business womanbecame so successful by understanding that people desire what they don’t have and creating an air of mystery around her work.
Become an elusive object of desire
Myopia
People tend to overreact to present circumstances
The South Sea Companya British joint-stock company founded in 1711became known as the South Sea Bubble.
Think both near and long-term future
Defensiveness
People don’t like when someone is trying to change their opinion.
Lyndon Johnsonthe 36th president of the United Statesgained his influence and power by focusing on others, letting them do the talking, letting them be the stars of the show.
Soften people’s resistance by confirming their self-opinion.

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Self Sabotage
Our attitude determines much of what happens in our life.
Anton Chekhova Russian playwright and short-story writerhad a tough childhood but in spite of that was able to change his life by changing his view of the world from negative to positive.
Change your attitude
Repression
People are rarely who they seem to be. Lurking beneath their polite, affable exterior is inevitably a dark, shadow side consisting of insecurities and aggressive, selfish impulses 
Richard Nixon had a positive image in the public. Everything changed after the Watergate scandal which revealed his hidden personality.
Be aware of your dark side
Envy
Mary Shelleyauthor of the novel Frankensteinwas betrayed by her close friend who envied her.

Learn to deflect envy by drawing attention away from yourself. Develop your sense of self-worth from internal standards and not incessant comparisons.
Grandiosity
Even a small measure of success can give us an unrealistic sense of superiority. This can make us lose contact with reality and make irrational decisions.

Michael Eisner had to resign from the CEO position of The Walt Disney Company. In the author’s opinion the cause is Eisner’s grandiosity elevated by previous successes.

Counteract the pull of grandiosity by maintaining a realistic assessment of yourself and your limits. Tie any feelings of greatness to your work, your achievements, and your contributions to society.
Gender rigidity

Caterina Sforza was a powerful an Italian noblewoman whose masculine qualities helped her to achieve her influence.
You must become aware of lost masculine or feminine traits and slowly reconnect to them, 
Aimlessness
People become most successful when they have a sense of purpose in their life
Martin Luther King Jr. is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience. His calling directed his actions and helped him go through many failures in his life.

Conformity
In the group setting, we unconsciously imitate what others are saying and doing. We feel different emotions, infected by the group mood. We are more prone to taking risks, to acting irrationally, because everyone else is.
Mao’s Cultural revolution
Gao Yuan tells a story in his book Born Red showed that people in groups behave emotional and excited. They don’t engage in nuanced thinking and deep analysis.

Develop self-awareness and a superior understanding of the changes that occur in us in groups. With such intelligence, we can become superior social actors, able to outwardly fit in and cooperate with others on a high level, while retaining our independence and rationality.
Fickleness
People are always ambivalent about rulers
Elizabeth IQueen of England and Ireland in 16th centuryhad to constantly prove herself as the leader of the country. She never relied on her royal blood for this.

Authority is the delicate art of creating the appearance of power, legitimacy, and fairness while getting people to identify with you as a leader who is in their service. If you want to lead, you must master this art from early on in your life.
Aggression

John D. RockefellerAmerican oil industry business magnateused aggressive strategies to gain power and control.

The dangerous types depend on making you emotionalafraid, angryand unable to think straight. Do not give them this power. When it comes to your own aggressive energy, learn to tame and channel it for productive purposes

Generational Myopia
You are born into a generation that defines who you are more than you can imagine. Your generation wants to separate itself from the previous one and set a new tone for the world. In the process, it forms certain tastes, values, and ways of thinking that you as an individual internalize. As you get older, these generational values and ideas tend to close you off from other points of view, constraining your mind.
Awareness of this will free your mind from the mental constraints placed on you by your generation, and you will become more of the individual you imagine yourself to be, with all the power that freedom will bring you.

Fear of Death
The inevitability of death should be continually on our minds. Understanding the shortness of life fills us with a sense of purpose and urgency to realize our goals. Training ourselves to confront and accept this reality makes it easier to manage the inevitable setbacks, separations, and crises in life. It gives us a sense of proportion, of what really matters in this brief existence of ours. Most people continually look for ways to separate themselves from others and feel superior. Instead, we must see the mortality in everyone, how it equalizes and connects us all. By becoming deeply aware of our mortality, we intensify our experience of every aspect of life.

By way of comparison here’s a very short little article on “the 10 essential virtues

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